Safe Stop of TfL and Crossrail construction sites

Alison Moore: How many a) TfL sites and b) Crossrail sites were brought to a temporary Safe Stop? How many a) TfL sites and b) Crossrail sites remained open for operational safety reasons?

The Mayor: In March this year, Transport for London (TfL) took the decision to bring its construction work to a temporary Safe Stop, in accordance with the guidance at the time from the Government and Public Health England. This was to ensure that sites complied with social distancing to keep the workforce safe and the transport network was available for those making essential journeys.
Over 250 TfL sites were brought to a temporary Safe Stop, with nine remaining open for operational safety reasons.
Physical works on all Crossrail sites were temporarily paused. Station enhancement work on the eastern and western section of the route was also suspended by Network Rail.
During the temporary pause of works it has been necessary for a small number of staff to be present at central section sites to maintain safety and security.

TfL Ticket refunds (3)

Alison Moore: TfL have said, “While the vast majority of our customers now use pay as you go to travel around London, any customers who have a season ticket loaded onto an Oyster card and require a refund can always contact our Customer Services team on 0343 222 1234”. Why cannot these refunds be processed online?

The Mayor: The option to apply for a refund online was switched off following a security compromise to Transport for London’s online systems which saw fraudulent attempts to claim refunds for tickets and pay as you go credit.
While the Oyster Online service was not directly breached, some customers’ Oyster Online accounts were accessed maliciously due to the account holders using the same username and password on multiple websites. Where one of these other sites had been compromised in a previous hack, the correct login credentials were then used to access these customers’ Oyster Online accounts.

TfL Land (1)

Andrew Boff: How many homes were started on TfL land in the year 2019/20? Please provide a breakdown by site.

The Mayor: London’s housing crisis is well known, and under my mayoralty, Transport for London (TfL) has accelerated its development programme, putting its underutilised land to better use.
TfL started on site to build 1,077 homes in the financial year of 2019/20, bringing its total number of starts to almost 1,400 homes. These were across four sites, providing 50 per cent affordable housing for the sites brought forward post-May 2016.
Please see the attached table which shows a breakdown by site.

Temporary Hammersmith Bridge

Navin Shah: The consultation on the temporary bridge ends on 5th April. TfL will then need to update their plans as a result, submit a planning application to Hammersmith & Fulham and Richmond Councils; and then take approximately six to seven months to install the bridge. This leaves an opening date of Winter 2020/21. What effect, if any, have the Coronavirus Pandemic had on this timeline?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has made good progress in preparing planning applications for the temporary bridge, albeit at a slower pace than was previously anticipated due to coronavirus. TfL now expects to be in a position to submit the planning applications in mid-June, enabling them to proceed to respective local authority planning committees in mid-September.
The estimated timeframe of six to seven months to install the temporary bridge remains unchanged. However, like all planned TfL expenditure, this is subject to TfL’s ongoing discussions with the Department for Transport on the wider financial support it needs following the significant impact the pandemic has had on its fares income.

Completion of TfL projects

Caroline Pidgeon: Please state TfL’s estimated completion dates, by month or season, for the following projects, setting out TfL’s estimates as of (a) pre-23 March 2020, and (b) currently, for the following projects:
central section of Crossrail


Northern Line extension


step free access at Cockfosters, Amersham, Ickenham, Wimbledon Park, Debden, Osterley, Hanger Lane, Northolt, Sudbury Hill, Harrow-on-the Hill and Burnt Oak London Underground stations


Bank Station upgrade


Silvertown road tunnel


roll-out of rapid charging points

The Mayor: Due to the coronavirus pandemic Transport for London (TfL) brought its projects to a safe stop to ensure the safety of its staff and contractors. This will inevitably have an effect on the delivery dates of some projects. TfL is now reviewing where it is appropriate to safely re-start projects, and more detail on this will be given in due course.